đ BookJio May: I Will Survive
Hi everyone,
An update from Marchâs book club, here are the links to the summary slides and the reading guide for Eating Chili Crab in the Anthropocene. If you werenât able to attend the session, here are some of my takeaways:
Problem of imagination - how we often limit solutions to the climate crisis to individual acts of good (using a metal straw, bringing our own containers, recycling) rather than going to the root fo the problem (values, ethics, priorities) and dreaming of a radically different world we could live in
Degrowth as a way to happier and healthier people where we talk about things that matter to us
Youths can speak authoritatively about the climate crisis because it is going to affect us the most
Nature as a place that brings us joy where we can play and have fun, it doesnât have to be for a utilitarian purpose (âOh can use this plant for XYZ purposeâ)
My favourite quotes, sorry I took too long to write this email update and canât remember the context but I thought would still be fun to share đ
âYouâre a unit of GDP waiting to be evolvedâ
âBe ruthless to the system and kind to peopleâ
Singaporeâs education system is a kind of âritualised sufferingâ
âWe talk about this on Zoom and culture changesâ
âNo need wait for Minister, do it yourselfâ
For the month of May, weâll be discussing I Will Survive edited by Leow Yangfa.
Synopsis
What is it like to be gay and experience bullying in school or National Service? How do you deal with being rejected by your family and religious group because of your sexual orientation? How are women's experiences different or similar to men's? What does one go through in an abusive same-sex relationship, or when one loses a partner to suicide? What does a transgender man or woman go through in Singapore? When you have been diagnosed with a life-long illness, how do you continue living?
This collection brings together real-life experiences of love, grace, faith, dignity and courage from 21 ordinary gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in Singapore who have survived extraordinary circumstances.
We will live. We will thrive. We will survive.
To get a copy of the book, you can either purchase it from BooksActually or borrow the ebook from NLB. Initially there were plans to have the Saturday session at Pelangi Pride Centre (a LGBT community space and resource centre located near Commonwealth) but in light of the tightened Covid-19 regulations both of the sessions will be held online. I recommend visiting PPC when they reopen!
Details of Mayâs sessions
Date: 15 May 2021, Saturday
Time: 3-5pm
Date: 19 May 2021, Wednesday
Time: 8-9.30pm
Location: Online via Zoom
2021 Lineup
Also to help folks plan and read ahead, Iâve listed the books selected for the next three sessions below.
July: Call and Response edited by Rolinda Onates Espanola, Zakir Hossain and Joshua Ip
September: Loss Adjustment by Linda Collins
November: 'Others' Is Not A Race by Melissa De Silva
Cheers,
Hilda
If you have any questions/comments, you can Telegram message me @kitashinsuke.